Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: The Trap
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After waking up, while Ye Sochen was pulling out rations, I tidied up the sleeping bag.
Because I'd left mine behind of all things, she hadn't gotten a proper night's sleep. But today would be the last of that.
Today was the day we were set to reach the treasure.
-Rustle
As I carefully folded the borrowed sleeping bag and stowed it in my pack, I felt a familiar sensation from deep inside.
The soft, rolled-up feel of a sleeping bag.
-Slide
"..."
I cautiously peered inside, and sure enough, there were two sleeping bags in the pack.
One was the one I'd borrowed from Ye Sochen,
and the other...
'Shit.'
-Drip drip
Looks like I was too sleepy back then and didn't check properly.
It definitely wasn't there before, so why was it here now?
"What's wrong? Something up?"
"Y-Yeah?"
Ye Sochen asked as I stood there with the pack open, breaking out in cold sweat.
My mind raced.
What should I say here?
I remembered suggesting we share because I only had one, but if she found out I actually had mine, she'd blow up for sure.
But I couldn't just keep hiding it forever.
She'd figure it out the moment we checked the packs later.
So better to take the hit upfront.
"...Don't get mad and hear me out."
"Huh?"
"I checked thoroughly, and... my sleeping bag was here after all? I thought it was gone. Haha..."
I gave her an awkward smile, sweat beading on my forehead.
They say you can't spit in the face of someone smiling...
If I'm lucky, she'll let it slide...
"..."
"..."
Ye Sochen froze solid, and the vibe was clearly bad just from looking.
About ten seconds passed like that.
"Y-You call that words right now?!"
Her belated shriek echoed through the ruins.
"W-Wait a sec. Don't get mad—calm down first and hear my excuse..."
"What excuse is there! Die! Just die, you pervert! You did it on purpose! On purpose to mess with me like that...!"
"W-Wait! Don't hit me! Ow!"
There was no killing intent, but with her experience smacking me around, she controlled her strength perfectly to maximize the pain as she slammed my back.
"Ow ow ow..."
"Don't whine! Compared to the humiliation I suffered, that's nothing."
I winced, rubbing the spot on my back where she'd smashed me.
"What humiliation could make you hit like that..."
Sure, it was my fault, but that smack had real emotion behind it, so I pouted a bit.
Even with the same force, pain hits different with feelings involved. This one really stung.
"Just a bit of uncomfortable sleep, and you go this far..."
"Sh-Shut up! What do you know!"
"Then tell me! How am I supposed to know if you don't say! What hurt your feelings so bad?!"
"Ugh..."
She faltered at my irritated words, fueled by the pain,
"Q-Quiet! It's your fault! You could've just checked the pack properly back then!"
"...Ugh."
I counterattacked.
"If you hated it that much, you shouldn't have lent me yours!"
"Hah, now you're twisting it! I was considerate of your frail body and gave you mine, and now you're saying I shouldn't have?!"
"Who made this body frail in the first place! You think I wanted to be this weak?!"
"Bringing that up is cheating too! I had nothing to do with that!"
"Your master's the one who did it, so you're responsible too!"
The childish argument dragged on for a good while after that.
I wasn't usually this immature, but for some reason, being around Ye Sochen always brought it out.
Only after we were both exhausted from the bickering did we call a truce and get back on track.
"So you're still not gonna tell me why you got that mad?"
"..."
The real reason for her blowup remained a mystery.
After walking much farther,
we arrived at a massive cavern.
"Whoa..."
Filling the huge space were artifacts that looked extraordinary at a glance, tattered books that seemed like martial manuals, and a hefty pile of gold—impressive, if not quite what I'd hoped for.
Not quite meeting expectations, but still the most abundant, dazzling hoard I'd ever seen.
I was tempted to dive right in.
"Your face says you wanna jump in right now. Greedy as ever."
"After all this hardship, can't I be a little greedy?"
"Hardship? Walking and disarming traps you already knew about? Real explorers would call that a scam."
"It's my ability— what's the problem!"
If they're jealous, they should learn to read the heavens too.
I felt like offering a prayer of thanks to the Lord of Heaven and Earth for the first time in ages.
'Wonder how much that'd sell for.'
-Slurp
Secret vault gold wouldn't be fake, obviously.
As I spun fantasies, Ye Sochen doused them.
"I get it, but forget taking it all. No space anyway, and we should leave some for whoever comes after. Unless you want to flood the market with gold, draw the world's eyes to you after sneaking in here."
"...Ah."
My mood plummeted, head drooping.
"Ugh..."
Seeing that,
"A-Alright. Can't take it all, but I'll handle a reasonable amount. I'll convert it to gold coins outside."
"Really?!"
"Yeah... I'm not exactly hurting for money."
"Ooh..."
...Wait a minute.
"Aren't you a Taoist?"
"Taoists can have money too."
"..."
I wondered if a Taoist like her should say that, but I decided to take the good with the bad.
Sword Empress was the same—even Taoists can't live on grass alone.
Hmm.
"...But if it's money, Dang Ayoung has way more than me. She'd bring the Tang Clan fortune at a word from you."
"Nah, not that much."
"No joke—I'm serious. She might really do it. You'd be Dang Yuseong, not Dan. Names are similar anyway."
"...No marriage plans."
I'd forgotten about girl troubles while hanging with Ye Sochen, but once outside, headaches would resume.
"Haa..."
Still, it'd been nice living carefree for a bit.
Now I'd have to think how to face Dang Ayoung right away.
"...Wanna just stay here together?"
"Wh-What?!"
"Kidding..."
She looked ready to yell, face flushing as she took it as teasing, so I backpedaled fast.
Half-joking, but honestly, staying here with her didn't sound bad if possible.
A secret ruin, no one else coming. More secluded than the mountains.
Of course, no food supply here, so impossible.
Just frustration talking.
"Ah... Th-That..."
"...?"
"If... if you're okay with just you... me too..."
"What?"
"N-Nothing! I'm going to find my sword!"
She whipped around and marched off.
I tilted my head at her retreating figure, then turned to check other treasures.
My eyes were drawn to the shiny gold bars, but the other items were treasures too.
Maybe something useful for me.
'Like fixing my dantian.'
At my age, proper cultivation might be too late even if fixed, but escaping this frailty even a bit would be great.
Enough reason just to stop getting sick without medicine working.
-Flutter
'Wonder what's in this.'
I picked up a book titled like a martial art and flipped through slowly.
Cautious in case memorizing a formula caused issues, but it seemed safe.
'Huh. No clue what any of it says.'
The only manual I'd seen here was Three Disasters Mind Method, and I hadn't even trained it properly. No wonder ancient vault books stumped me.
I set it down gently, about to look for others,
-Thud!
"?!"
An ominous sound from where Ye Sochen had gone.
"You okay?!"
I rushed toward the noise.
And there she was.
"...Why'd you fall again?"
"I-I dodged... but the trap was double... no, triple-layered..."
Ye Sochen, dropped into a pit just like before.
"...Haa. Come on out."
I sighed, extending a hand.
Peering in, the pit was filled with white stuff like cotton or pillows.
White powder drifting inside felt ominous, but I couldn't leave her, so I pinched my nose with one hand, offering the other.
"..."
"What? Hurry up."
She stared blankly a moment, then grabbed my hand.
"Listen... no misunderstanding. This is important."
-Grip!
Her hand clamped mine tight.
"You any good at running?"
Despite her words, her iron grip kept me from pulling away, and cold sweat broke out as I sensed trouble.